The Toledo Zoo!

So, tonight, I'm looking at the summer, wondering where in the world it has gone to?! Can anyone please tell me... or does this feeling continue for the rest of my life?

This is the collage of a zoo trip this past summer...

I'm not 'fraid of anything!

This summer has been an amazing time to watch my number 3 daughter grow. While she's not quite talking in sentences, she manages to communicate some pretty interesting things!

We visited the Toledo Zoo with some friends of ours... and Sophie saw this frog... can't remember what it was - but it wasn't a real frog - looked likd one - but... NO. She has had a lot of fun exploring her world and seeing her trust in most things that Mommy says, "It's OK" to makes me think of God and wonder why we don't so easily put our trust in Him. After all - He made us!

Go Sophie!

Now we can jump!

When do Mom's and Dad's become SO old that they can't remember how much fun it is to jump on the bed? I think that it's when they recall the song, How Many Monkey's Jumpin' on the Bed. And begin to worry about bumping heads or hands or other necessary body parts!

We built bunk beds for the girls last weekend when my best friend from college came to visit with her little girl. Ava was a trooper... sleeping in at least 2 different rooms while she was here... and my kids were troopers too while Daddy measured, and cut and sanded away to make the beds turn out beautifully. I'll get a picture of the finished product

The bed turned out pretty nearly as planned... except that the board to put the mattresses on weren't cut exactly to perfection at the Home Store...
for a project that we did on our own, it's gonna look beautiful when the paint
jumps on just before our trip to Blue Gable for the summer end reunion with family.
I'm really proud of Steve for his ability to make something come together.

TUFW Friends

You know you've been friends a long time when you can't remember where it was that you last saw each other... but you've kept in contact long past the expiration of the green dot screen that used to be the method of communication on email! (you know what I'm talkin about!)


You know you've been friends a long time when you can tell your children that they SHOULD NOT believe ANY of the stories that are told about you... from college days or that these friends knew you before Daddy did... and they still love you anyway!


You know you've been friends a long time if when you can pick up friendships from where they parted and still enjoy each others idiosyncrisies from more than 10 years ago - laugh, love, and live - bon apetite!


Thank you my TUFW leadership friends for all of the wonder of friendships shared when Christ is at the helm! You are such a blessing to me!

VA friends

Some very dear friends from the "burg" treated us to brunch - southern style... it was delicious! But as delicious as it was the conversation was even better. Ya'll are a blessing to our lives.

We SO enjoyed our time with you on the Cabana, one of the best kept hideaway's in Williamsburg. While there, we spent time chatting, laughing, blowing bubbles out of the open windows, cathching up on what God has been doing in so many of our friends lives. This room is SO beautiful, and the mistress of the cabana is a dear friend too. Thanks for having all of us (a family of 5 in a 1 bdrm flat) and sharing the smiles and time with us too!

Some favorite family foto's in VA

We had a fabulous visit in VA this summer. Mom & Pop arranged for a condo at their timeshare... wow... :-) We had fun seeing them, and other family who came in for the weekend. Thanks for a great visit...

Nana and Sophie... I wonder what secret was just shared!

Granpa and Livvie snugglin...with bunbun of course!

Simeon and his new friend (on the other side of the glass) the spider monkey!

Virginia Beach, VA

While we were on vacation in VA, we spent a day in Virginia Beach. It was fun to see the huge waves, and to watch the kids respond to them. Since we have nothing like that in the mid-west, it was even more enjoyable.

While there we also stopped in at the zoo. Most people in the area don't know much about this zoo - but it was a nice place to stop. I personally have never been that close to a giraffe. I think that I could have touched it, at least if the giraffe wanted to come that close to me!